Stepping into Rivers
by hotsytotsy186
Summary: What was supposed to be an exciting trip to a new and beautiful planet turns mysterious when the Doctor and Rose discover they are on a world they should never have been able to go to in the first place. As Rose and the Doctor work to untangle the mystery, they realize that not all is as it seems and the Doctor struggles to once again leave the place he once called home.
1. Chapter 1

"This," he says twirling in a flurry of long, brown coat. "Is going to be brilliant! Oh, Rose, imagine it-" here he stood behind her, gripping her shoulders. She could feel his breath in her ear. "A waterfall 3 miles tall. Sand that glitters in every colour of the visible light spectrum. And the birds, Rose- the birds! Their songs are more beautiful than any of the music you have ever heard." He turned her around. "Are you ready?"

She couldn't help but laugh. His verve and excitement was positively infections. "And what is this place called again?"

"Prolemium VI," he called running toward the door. "You're going to love it, Rose!" He threw the door open and disappeared into the sunlight.

"I'm sure I will," Rose managed between laughs. She quickly zipped her coat and followed him. The sunlight was intense. Its light reflected off of the leaves of the forest in a glittering, mesmerizing fashion. Rose couldn't help but gasp in delight. "Doctor, you said it would be beautiful, but this? These trees… they look like they're on fire. But it's the light. It's only the light… reflecting, right?" She gently grasped a small leaf in her hand. Here it appeared silver, but when she released it and it and its branch bounced softly up, the leaf held the golden red of the two- yes, two!- suns in the sky.

"What?" the Doctor whispered.

"I said it's beautiful. You were right!"

"No," he was quiet. So quiet.

"What?" Rose stepped toward him and for the first time saw the expression on his face. Lines etched deeply through his forehead, his face creased in concern. "What's wrong, Doctor?"

"This isn't Prolemium VI." His voice was breathless.

If it weren't for the concern in his voice, Rose would have made a snide remark about him getting them lost again. "Where are we then?"

He gulped. It seemed as if the words he was about to say were too terrifying, too uncomprehendingly impossible to be true.

"Gallifrey."


	2. Chapter 2

He whirled around, running back into the TARDIS.

"What do you mean it's Gallifrey? You said we couldn't go there. It was in a time thingy or something."

"We shouldn't be able to." He was pushing buttons and pulling levers at a frantic pace. The TARDIS did not respond. "It was the Time War. It was put in a Time Lock. _I_ put it in a Time Lock. It was destroyed. I know it was." His voice was desperate and pleading, urgent. "We can't be here. Something is very, very wrong. If the Time Lock broke…" Rose didn't know exactly what would happen if the Time Lock broke, but from the context she could tell it wouldn't be good.

Rose watched helplessly as he became more and more frantic. The TARDIS should have been whirring, should have had some kind of mechanical response, the tall column should have been oscillating or rotating or something. But instead it sat idle, unresponsive. Where there should have been whirrs and tinks and thwamps there was only a resounding silence.

"Nothing." He moved back from the console. "Absolutely nothing."

"What's wrong?" She moved to be beside him. While she certainly couldn't interpret anything on the monitor, she could at least be moral support for him.

"These coordinates are not the ones I put in."

"The TARDIS changed them?"

"Something did. Something happened."

"And they're the coordinates of Gallifrey? Of your home?"

"Almost. The heading," he pointed at a long string of numbers on the screen. "It's just a little bit off. Like a step off. Like when you've put something down like an envelope and step away and when you come back it's been moved, but only by an inch, and you can't really prove it but you know it. We shouldn't be here. Gallifrey shouldn't be here."

"But it is."

"Yes, it is." They shared a moment of silent contemplation.

"So we're not going anywhere then? We can't leave."

"It would appear so." He ran his hands through his hair. "There's absolutely no reaction. All the monitors are fine, everything reads as it should. Something is keeping us here. It could be mechanical… electrical… nuclear… avian… I just…" his left hand ran through his hair and settled on the back of his neck. "I could try to rewire the electromagnatriconducer, but I don't think that would do much good."

"No, probably not." Rose knew she sounded like an idiot now. "What if… what if we went out there?" The Doctor stared at her as though she had just grown a second head. "I mean, whatever is keeping us here might be effecting out there as well, yeah? Well how can we figure it out if we don't explore?"

"Rose Tyler," he grasped her cheeks in both hands as a smile exploded across his face. "You are brilliant." With that, he was once again bounding out of the TARDIS.

They ran through the wooded area, Rose desperately trying to keep up with the Doctor. He was propelled by an excitement that, while she couldn't share it, Rose completely understood. Flashes of silver and burning orange passed by, the leaves rustling at the sudden movement of air around them. Then, just as suddenly as they had found themselves in this impossible situation, the forest cleared into a landscape of barren, gray rocks.

For the second time today, Rose could not contain the gasp of awe.

"It's beautiful…" the words really didn't do the scene before them justice. A tall city rose out of the valley below them, all rust and red and warm. A large bubble- perhaps of glass- enveloped the strangely constructed buildings below. Rose had never seen anything like it.

"The Citadel." His face was a mixture of awe and excitement and trepidation. He raised an eyebrow. "Shall we?" Rose silently nodded and took his hand.

The walls of the city rose nearly 20 ft high before them. They seemed to stand as a brick and mortar first defense, although Rose was fairly certain that that dome probably provided all the protection the city would ever need. They approached a tall, dark, metal gate. Its hulking figure was solid and unmovable. The Doctor let Rose's hand fall and approached the fortress. It seemed impenetrable. Rose faintly wondered if he was going to knock and the door would suddenly swing open and they would be greeted by family members all cooing and cawing over them as though he were simply home from Uni on holiday and hadn't been there in a while.

Instead, the Doctor raised his right hand and placed it on the metallic surface. He said something in a language she, surprisingly, couldn't understand. For two years now the TARDIS had translated everything. Literally everything. And now he was speaking words she could not understand. It left her puzzled and a little more than slightly apprehensive.

Stepping back, the Doctor dropped his hand. There was a bit of a rumble and then a grating noise as the door slid open. It groaned with the effort as though no one had required such an exertion of it for some time.

He turned and smiled. "Are you ready?" She willing took his hand and together they entered the colossal city.


	3. Chapter 3

"This is our capital, Rose," he said with a flourish of his hand. "The Citadel. Governmental and commercial center of all Gallifrey. It actually started out as a city dedicated soley to the government, but folks realized there was money to be made and… well, here we are."

Rose took the chance to glance about. The buildings were tall, red affairs. Perhaps a stucco or adobe. Square windows dotted the faces and second and third floors. People rushed about clearly in a hurry to do something. There was the noise of trade and business in the distance. All in all, it seemed to be quite the bustling city.

"This way," he called over his shoulder as he guided them through the pedestrian traffic. _That's what was missing_, thought Rose. _No cars or lorries or anything like that_.

She caught a glimpse of his face. Concern still etched deep lines in his brow, but instead of the darkness she had witnessed there earlier, his eyes now held a cautious excitement. Rose honestly had no idea what to think about all of this.

His pace quickened as they moved into a market district. Sellers there hawked their wares: jewelry, fruit, cloths, clothing, vegetables, and a myriad of objects Rose had never seen. He pulled her down a side street and then out onto another broad boulevard. He was nearly running. Rose struggled to keep up.

"Doctor, slow down." But he couldn't hear her. As they turned right around another corner, he dropped her hand and ran. Thankfully, the crowds here were significantly less than in the market; even so, Rose had to apologize to a number of people whom she bumped and prodded on her way to catch up.

When she did catch up to him, it was on a small side street where few people milled about. He stood at a large cast iron gate. He walked slowly to the gate and place is right palm on it. Just like the gate that allowed them entrance into the city, this gate, too, slowly slid open.

Stepping through, Rose could not help but utter, "Whoa…" She whirled around taking it all in. A garden the likes of which she had never seen. Flowers of every colour of the spectrum- and even a few she had never seen before- lined the walks. A large fountain flowed in the centre, just before the entrance to a massive house. Mansion was more like it.

"What is this place?" she queried breathlessly.

He gulped staring up at the four floors facing them, giant stained glass windows staring at them. "Home."

"Home? This is your home?" he simply nodded. She began to laugh. "You're rich. Like properly, undeniable rich!"

"Well, _I'm_ not rich," he said slowly. "My parents were… _are_ rich."

He clearly wanted to change the subject and moved quickly to the front door which slid open without any hesitation as he approached.

The foyer, as best as Rose could tell, was made of marble. Another fountain greeted them on the inside. A large landing was guarded by two curving staircases. A deep crimson rug ran the length of the stairs, completing the effect.

She glanced at him. His lip was trembling slightly. He hadn't been home in… Rose thought about it. She honestly had no idea. I could have been 2 years, it could have been 200. She smiled softly hoping to give him a bit of comfort and gently slid her hand into his.

The walls were adorned tastefully by sconces and a solitary mirror.

"What?" he had been moving forward but suddenly halted at the mirror. "What?!" He ran his free hand through his hair and, disengaging his other from Rose's grasp, pinched at his cheeks. "What?"

"What is it?" Rose turned to face the mirror. What she saw surprised her. The face looking back in confusion was not the Doctor's. Well, not her Doctor's at least. He was a blonde bloke with a rounder face and blue eyes. Impossibly blue eyes. His golden hair was brushed to the side, a respectful and conservative look anywhere. "What's going on?"  
He reached into his pocket and, pulling out the Sonic, scanned the mirror and then himself. He scrunched his face as he read the analysis and then shook the tool before glancing back at the readout.

"Perception filter."

"On the mirror?"

"No. Not the mirror. Not me."

"Well, I look the same," she glanced at the mirror. Yep. Same hair, same eyes, same everything. "The TARDIS?"

"Could be," he stood thoughtfully tapping on his chin. "My first face…"

Rose was about to make a remark about how lucky he was since all of his faces seemed to be so attractive when a sound to their left caught her attention.

"There you are," a woman with short, blonde hair stood on the landing. She wore a long red tunic and flowing pants. "I thought you'd never come home." She descended the stairs gracefully.

The Doctor stepped forward, a look of clear disbelief on his face.

"Mother?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, of course I'm your mother," she sighed with exasperation. "Rassilon's ghost, what's gotten into you?" she stepped forward and swatted him gently on the shoulder. "Now then, are you going to tell me who this lovely young lady is or shall I have to guess it myself?"

"Oh, erm… this is Rose."

"Rose. What a lovely name. Is it foreign, dear?" The woman flashed a gentle smile toward Rose.

"Uh, yeah. My parents, they travelled a lot." Rose silently congratulated herself on her quickness.

"Lovely. Will you be staying for supper?"

Rose was stymied. She glanced at the Doctor. He, too, looked flabbergasted.

"Well you must!" The woman clapped her hands together. "It's settled, it is. The more the merrier. And at this time of year, it's so appropriate." She began to hustle off in the direction of what must have been the kitchen.

"This time of year?" Rose queried. The Doctor's mother turned and smiled again.

"Of course, the festival! A time of joy and happiness," a mischievous look shadowed her eyes. "And love, of course. Mustn't forget that." Just as quickly as the look appeared, it vanished. "Now you two set the table."

And she was gone.

Rose turned to the Doctor, a questioning, almost mocking look on her face.

"This way," he said with an exasperated sigh. Placing a hand on her lower back, he guided her down the hallway.

Large paintings loomed above them. Some portraits, others landscape. Rose stopped in front of one that showed a family gathered in a living area. They couldn't be… Rose reached her hand up and moved about. "They're… 3D."

"Yep. Time Lord paintings. Actually capturing a moment time there."

"Is this your family?"

"Yep," he pointed at the small boy, hands raised in the air, who appeared to be sneaking up on the taller girl child. "That one there… that's me."

Rose gasp and began to laugh. "Oh, it's Baby Doctor! Oh, god, you're cheeks were so chubby!"

"Yes, well, I'm sure you had a bit of baby fat yourself back in the day," he playfully poked her in the midsection. "Come on or my mum's liable to become quite cross."

They continued down the hall, Rose muttering, "Oh how the tables turn…"

They turned into a room about half way down the hall. It was a large formal dining room: a fireplace crackling lively on the far wall, a long table down the middle of the room was already set for 4. Dark wood paneling made it feel welcome and cozy.

"Oh, hello," a soft feminine voice spoke up from behind them. Standing next to a buffet was a tall, brunette woman, her hair in soft waves and pinned up. She wore a long black dress with intricate beading. "I stopped by and your mum insisted I have supper with you."

"She has a habit of doing that," the Doctor murmured awkwardly after a moment of silence. "Hello." He moved toward her and took her into his arms. Again, his lips were trembling. Rose wished she knew what was happening. "How are you?" he asked, still holding the woman.

"I'm fine. What's on with you? You're acting like it's been centuries since we last saw each other."

"Just nostalgic, I guess. Oh, um, this is Rose." He gestured toward his companion.

The woman gracefully brought a hand forth. "Hello, I'm Lellanndrovinia. You may call me Lella."


End file.
